By Stacey D’Angelo, RPh, Pharmacist & Founder of Your Simple Health
In today’s fast-paced world, mental well-being isn’t just a luxury—it’s essential. As a pharmacist specializing in deprescribing, I use this exercise with patients coming off medications like anti-anxiety drugs, antidepressants, or any medication that can cause rebound or withdrawal symptoms. But the reality is, having your mental well-being toolkit ready before you need it is helpful for everyone.
If you’re not actively nurturing your mental health and building resilience, you’re more susceptible to being affected by everyday stressors and significant life events—whether it’s a big project landing on your desk, a conflict at work, a dispute with your partner, a devastating diagnosis in the family, or the loss of a pet or loved one. This exercise is all about identifying the strategies that help you approach these situations with greater capacity and grace.
What is Mental Well-being?
Mental well-being is more than just the absence of stress. It’s the ability to navigate life’s ups and downs with confidence and resilience. It involves emotional strength, self-awareness, and the ability to adapt to change while maintaining a sense of purpose and connection with others.
Why a Toolkit?
Think of your mental well-being toolkit as a personalized collection of strategies, practices, and habits designed to help you build resilience and cope during difficult times. It should be flexible, evolving, and tailored to your unique needs.
You Are Unique
We all experience challenges, stress, and emotions differently because of our:
Genetic makeup: You are born with certain predispositions for how you process stress and emotions based on your DNA.
Life experiences: Trauma, upbringing, and personal history shape our coping mechanisms and learned behaviors.
Support systems: The people and environments around us influence our resilience.
Personality and values: Personal goals, core values, and your innate personality influence how you manage stressful situations.
Because of this, something that triggers stress for you may not affect someone else. Similarly, the tools that work for one person may not work for you. That’s why your toolkit needs to be personalized—designed around what truly helps you feel safe, resilient, and ready to take on challenges.
Building Your Toolkit: Two Key Strategies
1. Build & Buffer Strategies
These are daily practices and small habits that proactively support mental well-being and resilience. They help neutralize future stressors and enable you to perform in a more variable environment.
Examples:
Eating nutritious, healthful foods.
Practicing mindfulness (e.g., meditation, breathwork).
Regular exercise.
Ensuring quality sleep and rest.
Building deep personal connections and fostering a sense of community.
Positive thinking and gratitude.
Engaging in activities that bring joy and pleasure.
Pursuing meaningful work and identifying with a purpose.
Exercise:
Write down all "Build & Buffer" strategies that resonate with you (both current and potential).
Identify which habits you’re currently doing well and which could be improved.
Choose one strategy to improve and identify a small step to work on this week.
2. Reset & Recover Strategies
These strategies are about reactive coping—helping you regain balance and recover from significant stressors, tough times, or difficult feelings.
Examples:
Breathing Exercises: Techniques like box breathing or 4-7-8 breathing help shift your body from ‘fight or flight’ to ‘rest and digest.’
Mindfulness Practices: Meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, or guided imagery.
Journaling: Name your emotions and physical sensations in the moment, or try free-flow journaling.
Distraction: Engage in hobbies, puzzles, or games.
Grounding Techniques: Put your feet on the earth.
Talking with a Loved One: Who’s on your list of people to call?
Professional Support: Psychotherapy or counseling.
Music: Choose specific songs, artists, or genres that soothe you and create a playlist.
Sleep/Rest
Exercise
Exercise:
Reflect on recent times when you could have used these strategies. How did you feel? What emotions and physical sensations did you experience? What did you do at the time, and how did it help you cope? Would you handle it differently now?
Identify your personal "Reset & Recover" strategies. Choose 3-5 techniques that resonate with you and be specific.
Final Reflection
As you build your mental well-being toolkit, remember that it’s a dynamic, evolving resource tailored to your unique journey.
Identifying your tools before you need them is especially helpful for coping in the moment. Make time to regularly reflect on which strategies resonate with you and continue to adapt your toolkit as you grow.
Your mental well-being isn’t just about surviving—it’s about thriving.
Let’s Connect!
I’d love to hear what you're including in your mental well-being toolkit.
Connect with me on social media (@yoursimplehealth) or comment below.
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